


Strange and Wondrous Winter Break

by JadeyKins



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Supernatural, Torchwood
Genre: Harry Potter AU, M/M, they're fifth years, they're in high school but there's no hanky panky, this was supposed to be part of the Harkstiel Advent calendar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 14:23:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6010966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeyKins/pseuds/JadeyKins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jack has to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays, Castiel decides to invite him home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strange and Wondrous Winter Break

Castiel finished packing his bag. He’d debated taking the whole trunk home for the holidays, but there wouldn’t be much space. He’d have to share his bedroom with his brothers and cousins for at least three days. Most of the rest of the time, he’d still be crammed in with the others. Better to leave the trunk behind with a few of the more precious books and treasures he’d acquired over the years so that Gabriel couldn’t wreck anything in a prank this year.

And hopefully, Castiel had figured out a few good pranks of his own to play on his brother. He hefted the bag over his shoulder and headed down to the entrance hall. A few others had already gathered, but Castiel was still early. He pulled out his copy of _Strange and Wondrous Beasts_ and flipped open to a chapter. Drawn into reading, he didn’t hear anyone creep up behind him.

“You know, they seem really brutal, but they’re actually kind in person.”

Castiel leaned his head up and caught Jack Harkness hovering over him. “You’ve seen a hippogriff? What am I saying, of course you have.”

Jack grinned—a charming smile that continuously got him in and out of trouble—and leaned against the stone wall. He was still dressed in his typical school uniform, though it constantly confused everyone in terms of color scheme. Nearly every Hogwarts student in the history of the school had been sorted into one of the four houses, but Jack Harkness had somehow eluded the Sorting Hat.

Castiel could still remember the sorting ritual. He’d been so anxious about getting sorted into the right house, that the hat had barely conversed with him. Some students said they had long conversations with the Hat, some barely had a chance to say more than a few words. Jack had been the last student called up to the Hat. Their conversation had lasted a solemn long five minutes until the Hat declared, “HOGWARTS.”

The professors, the students, everyone had been shocked, except for Jack who was smiling that same troublemaker grin he wore even now. McGonagall sputtered, asked the Hat again for a house, and the Hat had simply twisted, stared straight at her and bellowed even louder. “HOGWARTS.”

Ever since, Jack had worn the black uniform, though sometimes the piping was the green of Slytherin, the tie the Hufflepuff colors, his robes adorned with Gryffindor’s crest, and he wore a scarf even out of season in Ravenclaw’s silver and blue. Well, at least today he did. Other days he mixed the colors in other fashions. No one quite knew where he slept, either. Everyone seemed to have seen him in their common room at some point, though Castiel had noticed that Jack had been stopping by the kitchens and then hanging out in the Hufflepuff sanctuary for hours at end almost everyday the last three weeks. In truth he was quite distracting with his games, but laughter during exams had eased tensions.

“I could show you one. It’s here at school.”

“Unfortunately I have to go.”

Jack’s grin dimmed some. “Right. Winter break.”

“You’re not going anywhere?”

Jack shrugged. “Nowhere to go.”

Castiel blinked up at him. There were many orphans at Hogwarts these years since the last Wizarding War, but most went to other families for the holidays. Jack would be one of the few who remained behind. And he was such a social person. Castiel couldn’t recall ever seeing him alone. It bothered him that during the happiest time of the year, the student who did his best to put smiles on everyone else’s faces would be lonely. “Come with me.”

“What?”

“It will be cramped, but my family won’t notice one more sleeping in the house. Come home with me.”

“I don’t know if I can. Aren’t guardians supposed to sign off? I’ll never get permission in time.”

Castiel smirked at him. “Since when did you care about permission?”

“Okay, my reputation’s ahead of me,” Jack said with a laugh. “Yeah. If I hurry, I should be down here in time.”

“I won’t leave without you.”

“What if you miss the train?”

“Then my parents will drive to get me. Though they won’t be happy.”

“I’ll put a rush on it then.” And Jack ran off down the hall.

Castiel was still watching him go when Gabriel latched an arm around his shoulders. “Saying goodbye to the boyfriend for the holidays?” his older brother teased.

Castiel shoved his arm off. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Really? Seen Jack-o staring at you a lot more than anyone else lately. Thought he would have asked you out by now.”

“You’re teasing me,” Castiel said.

“Swear to mischief I’m not,” Gabriel replied.

And yet, Castiel couldn’t believe him. He knelt down and dug out a pen and scroll. Hopefully, Scamander would fly home fast enough with the message so that his parents couldn’t technically be disgruntled with the sudden visitor. And at some point he would have to slip out to Diagon Alley. While he’d completed all his Christmas shopping weeks ago in Hogsmeade, he now had to buy something for Jack. No one else would be expecting Jack, so unlikely that anyone else would buy him presents.

Gabriel stood and watched as Castiel quickly crafted the message, whispered the recipient to his owl, and then let the owl fly free. “Wow, Cassie. You’re serious about the guy coming to stay with us.”

 

“We always have plenty of food. With so many people coming and going, one more won’t hurt. And Jack looked sad about staying here. He doesn’t have family.”

“Massive suckage.” Gabriel clapped his hand on Castiel’s shoulder. “Proud of you little brother. And I should thank you.”

“For what?”

“Another hapless victim for my slew of holiday pranks! This is going to be great!”

Castiel held in a groan as Gabriel walked away. Hopefully Jack wasn’t going to regret accepting his offer.

 

***

 

Jack was all bright smiles and big waves as they worked their way towards the back of the train. Castiel wasn’t sure why the other boy was insisting on walking so far along. Any one of the cabins they had passed still had space for them, but Jack ducked into a rare empty one. Castiel hesitated for a second. He’d never spent time alone with the other boy and this was going to be different. Pushing away Gabriel’s taunts, Castiel walked into the cabin.

Jack flicked his wand at the door and it shut all on its own. “[Crappy name for illusion.]”

“What spell is that?” Castiel asked as he took a seat.

“People walking past are going to think its full. Gives us space to stretch out.”

“That’s rude,” Castiel said.

“Only kind of.” They stared at each other a long moment until Jack leaned forward. “Should I drop it?”

Castiel thought about the crowded house to come. For now, they’d have all the room they wanted, and perhaps have a bit of quiet. “It’s fine.” He kicked his feet up on the seat and pulled _Strange and Wondrous Beasts_ back out.

“Right. You want to read.”

“I need to keep studying for O.W.L.s. I won’t have much opportunity while I’m home and I’ll be lucky if Gabriel doesn’t steal my books because I’m ‘being boring.’ Never mind that my entire career is on the line.”

“Seventh years like to think they’re God,” Jack said. “Well, if you’re going to read, then you’re not going to mind me reading.”

Castiel drew the big book up into his lap and flipped idly through the pages. He tried not to notice how Jack was doing the same thing, bringing a huge tome out of his bag and getting comfortable on the opposite seat. Two ideas struck Castiel just then. One, Jack’s book was bigger than the bag appeared to be and therefore had to be magical, which was extremely cool and potentially very useful and deserved investigation. And two, he had never seen Jack Harkness with a book before. Rumor had it that he was a capable enough young wizard, but no one had ever seen him study in the five years he’d been hanging out in various common rooms.

“Something bothering you, hot wings?” Jack asked.

“Why would you call me—oh. Because of Professor Flitwick’s class last year. That was not my finest hour.”

Jack giggled. “Come on, it was fantastic.”

Castiel’s cheeks burned. “I don’t think he believed so.”

“Yeah, but the rest of us were doing these boring Ala Musca charms and you were trying something cool.”

“My brothers insisted that it was a better spell. I should have realized that it was going to bring about something destructive. I nearly burned down the classroom.”

“Hey, that’s what professors are for.” Jack turned his attention back to his book. “Besides, Gabriel was surprised to hear you got it working at all.”

“What?”

“Yeah. When I told him, he crowed, ‘I knew he was as good as us!’”

This news completely flabbergasted Castiel. If he hadn’t known better, he would have accused Jack of lying, but this didn’t seem the kind of situation the other boy would practice deception. Besides, Jack wasn’t known for lying. Telling extreme stories that seemed to be fiction, sure, but Divina Ross had actually researched a few of the more far-fetched. Jack was always telling some version of the truth. He might exaggerate some events, but he never out-right lied.

Which meant that Gabriel and Jack not only knew each other, Castiel had been the subject of discussion between them at least once. And that meant that Gabriel might not have been teasing him when he said Jack had a crush on him. But that was the problem with his older brother. No one could ever tell when he was lying or not.

“Okay, we’re back to figuring out what’s up with you,” Jack said as he closed his book a second time.

“Sorry,” Castiel muttered. He pushed messy dark hair away from his eyes and tried to focus on the book.

“I’ve got a question. Why’d you invite me? I was too excited to ask before.” And Jack looked like he was nervous, on the edge of wondering something bigger.

“No one should have to be alone for the holidays.”

Jack’s face fell a little. “That’s it? Some kind of pity?”

“You thrive on being around people and the castle gets empty this time of year. I didn’t want you to be lonely. Not when there’s going to be so many people at my house over the next few weeks.”

“So you were thinking of me?”

“Yes. I’d hardly invite Nicholas Hornby, for example. He hates people.”

Jack still didn’t seem so happy about the answer anymore. He turned back to his book and fussed with the back of his hair.

Castiel felt suddenly guilty for ruining Jack’s mood, though he wasn’t exactly sure how he had done that. All he knew was that Jack wasn’t really smiling anymore. He thought about warning Jack of Gabriel’s pranks and then he realized just who was in the cabin with him. Jack Harkness, the boy who could get anywhere in Hogwarts, who had managed to make McGonagall laugh in class during third year, who had somehow gotten the pumpkin puffs at Halloween to spurt orange filling all over Heather Burke. With an eager grin, Castiel dropped his feet back to the floor and faced Jack. He leaned forward. “You are the second greatest prankster at Hogwarts.”

An eyebrow shot up. Jack turned slowly. “Yeah. Your brother still has me beat.”

“How would you like to prank ‘the Trickster’ all during break?”

“You sure? It’s the holidays.”

“He’s not going to spare us. He called you ‘another hapless victim.’”

“Okay, I’m in.”

Castiel dug into his bag and pulled out a scroll. “I had some things in mind.”

“You wrote them down?” Jack asked. He frowned as he took the scroll. “Or not.”

Castiel took out his wand and tapped the paper. “Footloose.”

The ink came into view. “Nice enchantment, though I wouldn’t figure you for a muggle movie buff.”

“Neither would Gabriel. With him for a brother, I’ve become very good at creating passwords.”

“You’re full of surprises, Castiel.”

Castiel moved so that he was sitting beside Jack. “Do you think these will work?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a few ideas for improvements.”

“Please. And if there’s anyway we can somehow do that puff charm with Honeyduke’s Peppermint Spritzes instead—”

“It’s a lot easier to do if we’re involved in making the food.”

“All right. The problem would be confining it to just Gabriel then. I don’t want to splatter Anna or Michael on accident.”

“Oh getting it into place is the easy part. Let’s worry about sneaking into the kitchen and making something first.”

Castiel smiled. “That part is easy. I always help with Christmas Eve dinner.”

“Of course you do.” Jack pulled another book out of his bag. “Ready to learn some new spells?”

“Yes.”

They spent the rest of the train ride crowded around the same book. Castiel didn’t even care that his time would have been better spent focusing on O.W.L.s. Planning everything with Jack was far more fun, though by the time they reached London, Castiel had to seriously remind himself that Gabriel liked to tease him too much. Jack couldn’t possibly like  _him_. He was ordinary by wizard standards. Boring. Least interesting house, least interesting interests, most-likely-to-induce-a-coma out of all his siblings and relatives. That’s what he was bound to hear over and over while at home. It’s what some of the others said at school. In a whole world of magical wonders, Jack Harkness certainly couldn’t have a crush on _him_.

Castiel couldn’t help feeling a slight flutter every time their eyes met. Jack had a habit of making him feel visible. Only the rumor was that he made everyone feel like that. It was why everyone liked hanging out with him. So Castiel forced himself into thinking that the happy grins and smiles would have been given to anyone near Jack. He wasn’t special.

But for the first time, he sort of wished he was.

 

***

 

Castiel’s family lived in a freaking castle.

The shock of seeing an actual castle on an actual English moor. Jack hefted his bag over his shoulder, grabbed his duffle bag with another, and even took the one Gabriel shoved at him. Castiel immediately took that away and shoved it back at the Trickster, stating, “He’s not here to be your manservant.”

“Okay, Cassie. Just trying to make Jack feel like part of the family,” Gabriel replied.

“Be nice,” Mr. Milton said.

“This is where you live?” Jack asked.

“What? Like Hogwarts is the only magical castle out there?” Gabriel said.

Castiel shot his brother a dark look. Apparently he wasn’t fond of his brother’s tone.

But Jack didn’t care. Before Hogwarts, he’d only seen castles in photos. The magic of the school had never been lost on him, but here was an opportunity to explore a whole new place. And sneak eggnog at holiday parties. And prank the current prankmaster of Hogwarts. And he wouldn’t have to spend long hours alone. He could’ve used the time in the library to get ahead of his studies, but he didn’t relish the way the castle always felt cold without the masses of other students. This year had been set for the loneliest yet—with only a few professors and no more than twelve other students. Even Nick Hornby had managed an invitation to a prestigious wizarding home. This was quickly turning into the best winter break ever.

Castiel led him up a winding staircase to a third level room. It was decked out in tapestries and thick rugs. There were three beds set up, even more sleeping rolls set off to the side. Castiel took out his wand and casually threw an Incendio spell at the fireplace and it roared to life. “It will be crowded in here. Sorry.”

“I don’t mind,” Jack said. They shoved their things into a closet. Hardly able to contain the sudden excitement, Jack grabbed Castiel’s wrist and dragged him towards the door. “Okay, you have got to show me more of this castle!”

“Hold on. Do you have your wand?”

“Well, it’s attached to me. I always have it,” Jack joked.

Castiel became flustered, which was too darn cute, and stammered, “Your wooden one.”

Jack raised an eyebrow.

“You know which one I mean!”

“Yes, I’ve got it.”

“Good. Some of the passageways get very dark.”

“What, no flashlights?”

“The family doesn’t believe in ‘muggle works.’” Castiel sighed. “So, I can never smuggle in enough batteries to keep one operational for long.”

“You’re kidding, right? Batteries can last forever.”

“Not when Gabriel likes to steal them.”

They headed down to the base of the tower and then Castiel showed him into a secret passage that ran from the library to the dungeons. Good thing Castiel had insisted on the wands. This kind of darkness need a decent Lumos spell or they would have tripped over the damp stone stairway. Their footfalls echoed, but Jack heard the drip of water somewhere farther below. “How did you explore these as a kid?”

“I didn’t at first. My cousin Uriel shoved me into one of these passages when I was about six. I wound up making this little ball of light to help me get around and I finally found my way out. Other than Gabriel, I probably know the most about the castle.”

And Castiel seemed all too willing to give the brief history lesson. Or not so brief. Jack drank in every word, wondering if his father’s family had ever had this much legacy. He’d have to start looking into it sometime soon. Hopefully there weren’t any torturers in his family past. Castiel’s kind of seemed full of them. Jack wasn’t exactly reassured because the old dungeon still had the equipment. Castiel led the way to the opposite wall and opened another passage that led back up.

“Wait, this goes to the bedrooms?” Jack asked as they hiked up another staircase. His legs were starting to ache, but he’d never admit that.

“The guest quarters. One of my ancestors preferred keeping an eye on everyone.”

“Are we sleeping in one of the guest rooms?”

“No. I refuse to anymore.”

“Let me guess, one of your family dragged you down to the dungeon one time.”

Castiel paused and turned back to face him. There really wasn’t room for that in this narrow staircase, but he did it anyway. “Michael and Lucifer did.”

“Your family is full of assholes,” Jack said. “You don’t after them at all.”

“You barely know me.”

Jack grinned. “I got intuition about this kind of thing.”

They were close, close enough that if Jack finagled his way up a little more, he could kiss Castiel. Falling down the stairs would be brutal, but Jack was willing to take the risk. Unfortunately, Castiel moved away just before Jack could make the attempt. Ever since the train ride, he’d felt Castiel staring at him. Maybe he was misreading the signal.

Or maybe Castiel was just shy. Oh well, Jack had a couple weeks to figure it out.

 

***

 

Gabriel began the prank war.

Castiel was sleeping soundly in his bedroll on the floor when suddenly the extra mattresses that they’d brought out of storage disappeared. He dropped the few inches to the floor, Jack smacking into the stone beside him. Apparently everyone else had been in on it because no one else was in the room. Jack swore a few times. Castiel planned.

And the next morning Gabriel was woken by a Howler singing Jack’s best version of ‘Werewolves like to do it in the dark’—a song with no actual lyrics but a series of howls. The entire thing had been Castiel’s idea, but Jack’s howls were better.

Gabriel charmed their shoelaces so that Jack and Castiel had to walk together. Trying to take off the shoes got their fingers nearly bitten off until Michael grew bored of the problem and undid the charm. And then chastised them about being so foolish. Jack had glared at Michael’s back for the next three days.

Castiel took all the decent flavors from Gabriel’s latest box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Bean and replaced them all with hideous ones. They saw Gabriel close to vomiting a few times that day, and their laughter gave them away. Gabriel glared at them, vowed vengeance, and they had to take off before he managed to hex them.

Gabriel sewed all the pockets on their jeans, pants, and robes shut. While Castiel complained about it, Anna simply rolled her eyes and said, “Welcome to girls’ fashion.” And then mercifully helped them undo the charms.

The piece d’resistance, however, was that each night, Castiel would use a secret passage to hide out near the stairwell. Just as Gabriel would start to ascend, Castiel used a spell to throw his voice out into the stone staircase and he’d shriek as loud as possible. This inevitably woke all the paintings, which made them crabby. And they all instantly blamed Gabriel. He had to ascend the stairs to mild threats and more than one heavy sigh.

 

***

 

After a lot of pleading and promising to do chores, Castiel finally convinced Michael to drive him into London so that he could visit Diagon Alley. Of course, once one was going, a lot more wanted to. They had to cram into the van—Michael and Lucifer up front, Anna, Uriel, Gabriel, Samandriel, Rachel, Hannah, Jack and Castiel squeezing into the back. Somehow, Castiel had decided that sitting on Jack’s lap was the best course of action.

Which only brought on the teasing the whole forty-minute drive. By the time they climbed out of the van, Castiel thought his face might be a permanent shade of red.

Now came the true challenge. While he’d gotten to know Jack better over the last week, Christmas was right around the corner and he had no idea what would make a good present. He knew he shouldn’t spend much money on him—Anna had been talking with Rachel and Hannah about how the amount a boy spent on a girl meant how much he really liked her—and he didn’t want to alert his family anymore to his seriously-taking-up-too-many-thoughts crush. Besides, Jack didn’t even like him in that fashion and an expensive gift would only make things worse.

Diagon Alley was overfull with shoppers and sales. Castiel worried that he wouldn’t be able to buys something without Jack realizing it, but every shop, save Olliander’s, was full to capacity. They had a hard time keeping track of each other, having to shout over the crowd to let the other one know what they were doing next.

And then Castiel saw it. A mechanical hippogriff that needed no cranking, simply the muttering of a special word. It would behave almost exactly like the real thing. It was more than Castiel had hoped to spend, but the little treasure was too perfect a present. Still worried that Jack would happen upon him at the wrong moment, he carefully concealed the hippogriff until finally before the sales clerk. Luck was with him. Jack didn’t rejoin him until he was standing out on the street.

“Ready to find the rest of your family?”

“I think we’re supposed to meet back in the Leaky Cauldron.”

“Suits me, though bummer we’re not old enough for the good stuff.”

“You can sneak plenty of that at Christmas.”

“Really?”

“My siblings always have.”

“Not much of a party guy, huh?” Jack asked.

Once again, Castiel was reminded that he was the boring one. Mindful of the few packages he had, he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. “Guess not.”

“Hey, hot wings, don’t get such a sad look on your face. I’ll have to do something about it.”

Castiel snorted. “Like what?”

“Like this.” And Jack swooped in and kissed his cheek. He was laughing as he walked down the street towards the Leaky Cauldron.”

Castiel was left staring down the cobblestone in utter shock. Jack Harkness had just kissed him. Not a true romantic gesture, but at the same time, that was something more than friends did. Or maybe it wasn’t. Jack was a very friendly person. He had shown no problem being in others’ personal space. He was probably just trying to get a rise out of Castiel. A reaction. Yet here he stood like some sort of log. Castiel hurried down the street after the other boy.

But before he could question Jack as to his motives, they had gone into the tavern and Gabriel was waving them over to a long table where half of the others waited for them. Gabriel patted the seat on the bench right next to him. “I think there’s enough space here, Cassie. Unless, you know, you really want to get a feel for Jack’s wand length again.”

That made his cheeks brighten and Castiel sat down at the table properly mortified. Worse, he might have just had his first kiss and he wasn’t sure if Jack had been serious or not. All too much trouble to think about, especially with Gabriel looking for an opening.

 

***

 

Buying the present when Castiel wasn’t looking was a big enough challenge. Even bigger was finding time away so that Jack could wrap it without giving away the surprise. In both matters, he’d managed to conscript Hannah and Rachel’s help. They sat at the kitchen table with a plethora of other presents. If Castiel happened in on them, Hannah had promised to shoo him away before he could get a good look at what was happening.

“I think it’s a good present,” Hannah said.

“Yeah?”

“He’s always been fascinated with magical creatures.”

“That would explain the books he’s been reading,” Jack said.

“He’s using O.W.L.s as an excuse to focus more on them,” Rachel replied. “He should focus on DADA or potions.”

“Let Castiel be who he wants to be,” Hannah said.

“We have a family tradition.”

“Well some of that family turned traitor in the last conflict.”

“Castiel would never become a dark wizard,” Rachel said.

“I thought half of the families that turned would never do that, but they did,” Hannah pointed out.

Jack was having trouble with the bow, even more since the subject of the last war had come up. He hadn’t been old enough to remember much. But he’d lost a whole family. It hurt. And to the two girls, it sounded more like an academic conversation. Jack finally took out his wand and used magic to tie the bow. He wanted the present to look good and now that it did, he could take off.

“Is Castiel your boyfriend?” Hannah asked as Jack stood.

“Uh, no.”

“I told you,” Rachel said.

Hannah pouted. “You seemed like it. I thought that was why he invited you for holiday.”

“Naw. He just knows I hate being alone.”

“You should ask him out,” Rachel said.

“I don’t even know if he likes me that way.”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “Asking him on a date would kind of clear that up, don’t you think?”

“Yeah. Maybe towards the end of vacation. Don’t want to ruin the fun we’re having.” He took off for the staircase.

He could have sworn he heard Rachel huff and whisper, “Boys. Why do they always have to be so stupid?”

 

***

 

Christmas Eve. The house was full of family and a few friends—mostly Castiel’s father’s—and the food was ready to go. Castiel had even managed to cook up the special surprise for Gabriel and he couldn’t wait for Jack to slip it into his older brother’s hands. Despite all of the random pranks that Gabriel had done, this would top everything.

And Castiel had decided he wasn’t going to be so boring this year. When Gabriel and Anna began sneaking the adult drinks, Castiel asked to join in. Gabriel nearly fell over in shock, or feigned shock, and then he had liberally poured more rum into his eggnog. A bit too much. Castiel was pretty sure his ears were ringing all on their own. That the music had a special kind of charm. Oh, and he definitely needed to fall asleep by Jack as soon as possible. Maybe with Jack’s arm around him. Maybe no one would notice that.

Gabriel snuck his hand into the giant bowl of peppermints for the sixth time that evening. He pulled out a handful, readying to toss them into his mouth, when suddenly they exploded into bursts of red and silver glitter. It showered all over him, covering him from head to toe.

The laughter was loud. Castiel was one of the loudest among them.

Gabriel turned a bright shade of pink, spun around the room, and pointed a finger at Jack. “You! Outside! Duel!”

That caused a hush to come over the crowd. Jack’s eyebrows nearly shot up into his hairline. “Me?”

“You’ve been torturing me all break!”

“Hey, you started it!” Jack replied.

“Boys, the library, now,” Father said.

Both boys left with Father right behind them. Castiel felt like he couldn’t breathe. Jack was about to get in trouble for _his_ pranks. He shoved his mug down onto one of the tables and picked his way across the room. Michael caught his arm. “Let your friend deal with the consequences.”

“Let go of me!”

Michael was taken aback by the force in his voice and released him. Castiel rushed up the steps.

Echoes of the conversation were already trailing out into the hallway. Father was talking. “Jack, you’ve been a guest in our home, but what you’ve been doing is not acceptable.”

“Gabriel’s been pranking everyone,” Jack replied.

“But I didn’t cover anyone in glitter,” Gabriel said proudly.

“Come on, these were good pranks. You’re jealous you didn’t think of them.”

“Regardless, I think we’ll have to take you back to Hogwarts right after Christmas,” Father said.

Castiel burst into the room. “Don’t!”

“Castiel, I know you’re fond of him, but I can’t accept this kind of troublemaking in the house. Gabriel is bad enough.”

“But it isn’t Jack’s fault! It’s mine!”

“Taking the blame for your boyfriend is sweet, Cassie, but let him get punished for his own crap,” Gabriel said.

Castiel puffed up his chest. “But he’s not the one doing it.”

“Are you drunk?” Father asked.

“No.” Castiel tilted slightly, which probably didn’t help his case. He didn’t care. He turned on Gabriel. “You are such a menace at the holidays, I wanted to give you some of your own medicine!”

“Look, don’t take the blame for something you didn’t do.”

“I’ve been the one waking up the portraits!” Castiel made the growly scream he’d done every night for the last week and a half.

Now Gabriel was the one surprised. “You? Cassie, you were actually—you pulled this on me!” He hugged his brother.

“Oh, so it’s okay if he does it,” Jack complained.

“Hey, I thought you were trying to take my title. Cassie was trying to be clever.”

“Ideserveyourtitle,” Castiel murmured.

“What?”

“I deserve to be the Trickster.”

“Oh no you don’t.”

Father sighed and brushed a hand across his forehead. “Please, don’t follow your brother’s footsteps in this. And I have a feeling you weren’t truthful before. Have you been drinking?”

“Come on, Cassie. We need to tell everyone what a good job you’ve been doing.” Gabriel was rushing them out of the library now. Castiel almost tripped on a step, but Jack caught his arm and steadied them. Father came down behind them, but the good mood was back. No more demands about Castiel’s sobriety.

Gabriel spread his arms wide and announced, “It was Cassie, everybody!”

Which considering he was still trailing glitter everywhere, he only sounded more preposterous. The relatives were shocked. There were questions and rumors going all night. Castiel only cared that no one was angry with Jack and that this headache that was starting in his head could be drowned out with silence and water. As Christmas Eve turned into Christmas Morning, Castiel was sitting outside in the chilly air. He shivered, but he didn’t want to go back inside to get anything warm to wear.

Jack appeared and put a cloak around his shoulders.

“This isn’t mine,” Castiel murmured.

“I know. But I think the rightful owner is asleep somewhere.” Jack sat down beside him. “I, uh, got you something.” He held out a small wrapped package.

“Hold on,” Castiel said.

“For what?”

“I have to go get yours.” Castiel dashed inside and scurried underneath the tree to retrieve the right present. With the treasure clasped in his hand, he rushed back outside to Jack and plopped down onto the step. Panting, he said, “Here.”

Jack grinned one of the more rare, genuine smiles that Castiel had seen. They swapped wrapped gifts and opened together.

In Castiel’s hand was a small, mechanical hippogriff. For a second he worried that he’d somehow opened Jack’s present, but he glanced over to the other boy’s hands and Jack had one of his own. The colors were different—Castiel’s had a gold stripe where Jack’s had a green—but they’d bought each other the same present. Both of them broke into a fit of giggles.

Then Jack leaned in and Castiel suddenly held his breath. Their lips were close. Really close. The earlier night’s alcohol buzz had worn completely off by now, but his head began ringing again. This—Jack—maybe Gabriel had never lied. Castiel nudged in closer, bumping his nose against Jack’s. That brought another smile and Castiel grinned weakly in response.

They kissed. It was too long and too short all at once.

Afterwards, Castiel scooted closer to Jack and leaned his head against Jack’s shoulder. In return, Jack wrapped his arm around Castiel’s shoulder and they watched their toys spar with each other. Risking a glance up, Castiel asked, “All break, everyone has been calling you my boyfriend. I keep telling them they’re wrong.”

Jack rubbed his hand down Castiel’s arm. “I’ve been saying the same thing.”

“We should probably tell them that they’re right.”

“Naw. Let them figure it out on their own.”

“But really, you are my boyfriend?”

“If you’ll have me.”

“This isn’t fair. You’ve given me two presents. I only got you the one.”

“You kidding? This winter break has been the best gift ever.”

Castiel smiled and closed his eyes. If they were going to count that, then technically Jack had given him three. But rather than keeping going on who had given more, he decided to enjoy the way he and Jack fit together and the sounds of their metal hippogriff play fighting. This winter break had definitely been the best so far.


End file.
